Videoconferencing technology allows an individual to participate in a meeting or other event from a remote location. In conventional systems, the meeting room may include a display mechanism and one or more speakers which together present an audio-visual representation of the remote participant. The meeting room also includes one or more cameras and one or more microphones which together capture an audio-visual representation of one or more participants who are physically present in the meeting room. The local participants in the meeting room are referred to herein as hub participants because they define the core locus of the meeting. The remote participant is referred to as a satellite participant because he or she represents a person who is attending the meeting from a remote location.
Videoconferencing technology has enjoyed significant commercial success. Yet there are various instances in which this technology does not provide a fully satisfactory user experience. For example, consider the scenario in which the satellite participant directs a question or comment to a specific hub participant. It is often difficult for the hub participants to determine the target of the satellite participant's question or comment. This is because the visual representation of the satellite participant does not preserve some of the subtle communication cues by which people normally determine the directionality of a speaker's message.
For instance, the hub participants may notice changes in the satellite participant's head or eye gaze. But these cues are ambiguous in the visual representation of the satellite participant. When the satellite participant is looking straight ahead, each hub participant may perceive the satellite participant as looking directly at him or her, individually (an effect typically experienced when watching a TV newscaster). And when the satellite participant is looking to one side, each hub participant may perceive the satellite participant as looking to his or her left or right (but not aimed at anyone specifically).
The challenges noted above are presented by way of example, not limitation. Videoconferencing technology may suffer from yet other shortcomings. Further, other environments (besides videoconferencing environments) may experience similar difficulties to those set forth above.